Commonwealth v. Colon

The defendant appeals from the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a warrantless search of his apartment conducted at the time of his arrest on an outstanding warrant.1 A judge of the District Court concluded that the search was permissible as a “protective sweep.”

*580The facts found by the motion judge after an evidentiary hearing are undisputed for purposes of our consideration of the motion to suppress. The salient findings are these:2 The officers were made to wait several minutes after they knocked and announced their presence. During that time they heard a man and…